About the author

Brent Winter

<p>Atlanta native <strong>Brent Winter</strong> wrote his first story in sixth grade: a piece of <em>Silmarillion</em> fan fiction telling how the hobbits were created. <em>Lord of the Rings</em> was helping him survive a grim period, and he wanted to immerse himself in that world even more deeply by adding to it.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The impulse to enter other worlds through writing never left him, but for many years he couldn&#8217;t decide what kind of stories to write: mainstream literary fiction? Surrealism? Science fiction? Straight-up horror? He tried it all and more besides, racking up scores of rejections, a contest win, some honorable mentions, and an MFA in creative writing along the way.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Finally he asked a West African shaman what he should write. The shaman told Brent he&#8217;d come into this world with &#8220;bone-seated information&#8221; about &#8220;the other world,&#8221; and the sole purpose of that information was to share it through stories. So that&#8217;s what he does, writing literary supernatural thrillers about D Street, the neighborhood in downtown Atlanta that you can&#8217;t find on your own; someone who&#8217;s already been there has to take you first.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Brent now works as a writer and editor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. When he can, he visits Atlanta and D Street, where he gets readings at Simon Magus, has dinner at the Oracle, and takes in shows at the Aerie.</p>